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  • From: "loneroc" <loneroc@mwt.net>
  • To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] price of food
  • Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 05:43:24 -0500

Bill,

You are dealing with the economies of scale. I had my first seven 'Debbie's
Gold' apricots, yesterday. I didn't have to buy the tree, I grafted it
myself....but there was the cost of the grafting workshop where I put the
rootstock (a buck, at least)and scion together, the gas to drive 150 miles
to attend the workshop, the toot of Imidan for the swarms of curculio in my
sandpit here, the electricity to run the well that allows me to wrest
anything besides prickly pear fruit from my acre, the tree wrap, the .22
bullet that keeps the rabbits at bay, the wood chip mulch I get for a deal
from the sawmill a mile down the road, the fruit books I bought to learn how
to plant the tree and keep it alive, the Pomona subscription that let me
know that there were actually apricots that would grow here in zone 3, the
Felco pruning shears (both right and left handed), that Felco sharpening
stone that I thought might delay my purchase of new shears (the jury's still
out on that), oh, yes, that Corona pruning saw, the white pine seedlings I
planted as a windbreak, etc.

Even factoring in the fact that some of these expenses can be averaged over
the whole of the orchard, I could have bought seven apricots for a dollar
and a quarter (each of which would be thrice the size of Debbie's babies,
and nearly as good in quality---I suspect zone 3 apricots wouldn't make
Afghani apricot connoisseurs swoon).

You get the picture. On the other hand, after ten years of planting and
soil improvement, given enough notice to actually install the hand well I've
got sitting in the garage, I could feed myself and 3 or 4 others quite
luxuriously on a plethora of fruits and vegetables without any external
input, other than heading into town once a year to buy a hogshead of flour
and a little lard (OK--olive oil) to boot. I get more satisfaction from the
feeling of self sufficiency than the seven apricots themselves.

Steve Herje, Lone Rock, Wisconsin, USDA zone 3.

PS: I'd probably want a few chickens and ask Naomi to borrow a couple of
her goats, too.


----- Original Message -----
From: "William C. Garthright" <billg@inebraska.com>

> Regarding the price of food, I have to say that, after starting to
> garden and to grow fruit myself, I'm amazed at how cheap it is in the
> grocery store. So far, this has been a lot of work,... and rather
> expensive, too. Fun - and I'm eating more fresh vegetables (and,
> eventually, fruits) than I would otherwise - but not really a cost
> savings. Fencing, bird netting, spray, mulch, tools - everything costs.
> But then, a lot of it is probably because I'm just a beginner.
>
> Bill
> Lincoln, NE (zone 5)
>
>
> --
> In movies and TV series about the paranormal, the sterotypical "skeptic"
> figure always seems to convert into a believer by the end. And why does
> this occur? Well, because in fiction, the author can control the laws of
> nature, and in these fictional narratives (which show an abundant lack
> of creativity), the supernatural always turns out to be real. - Chris C.
> Mooney
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